


Republic City

by carpethefanfics



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Between ATLA and LOK, Break Up, F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Kataang - Freeform, Make Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 05:57:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11247723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpethefanfics/pseuds/carpethefanfics
Summary: Katara hasn’t seen Aang in many years but as the Worlds Leaders gather in Republic City, they’re destined to meet again.





	1. Reunited

**Author's Note:**

> carpetheotherfandoms.tumblr.com

Katara was sitting on the beach enjoying the warmth of the sun, the sand underneath her and the coming of the tide as it enveloped her toes. She had spent a whole day on Air Temple Island in Republic City where she had started teaching healing classes to water benders from all over the world. It had been six years since the end of the war with the Fire Nation but in those six years she had definitely learned enough to become Master Katara. The beach was like a solace for after the classes when she felt tired and worn.

She had first come to Republic City three years ago to be with Aang but it seemed he was gone more than he was there. She remembers the night of their biggest argument like it was yesterday.

He had come home from weeks away and when Katara told him she had decided to go back to the Southern Water Tribe it seemed that he released all his stress onto her. It was overwhelming to see him behave like that but at the time she was equally as stressed out and she wasn’t strong enough to bring them both back from the edge. She left that night and cried the entire journey home.

They had run into each other over the past three years but never let themselves be left alone together. It was too painful, Katara thought, to see him and not be herself around him. What would she even say now? Sometimes she hated how stubborn she was.

She had been back in Republic City for almost four months now, she was staying as a favour to the City Council who had requested she come represent the Southern Water Tribe while her brother was off in the North. As was her duty, she accepted their offer and came back to a place she didn’t realize would hurt her heart.

Everywhere she went she thought of a memory with Aang and she wished she could rewind the past three years, stop the fight, bring him back to her. But she also knew she needed that time away, their relationship struggled as soon as it began because the world was in such chaos and Aang was under too much pressure to also be worried about her.

The tide was slowly receding and she could feel the sun’s warmth weakening on her skin. It was about time for her to go back up to the Temple and get ready for her dinner. She was meeting the Council at Kwong’s Cuisine to discuss the progress they were making with the upcoming international conference. 

Leaders from across the world were to be personally invited by their representative on the Republic City Council and invited to this weekend long party. There would be dinners, dancing and most importantly, the opportunity for world leaders to get to know one another. It had definitely helped to create some strong bonds between nations and encourages peaceful relations.

After cleaning herself up, pulling her hair back into her half up-half down look she peered over at her selected outfit on the bed before her. Kwong’s Cuisine had a strict dress code and she knew she’d have to dress up fancier than her usual day-to-day regalia. The floor-length dress was in her favourite shade of blue with a slit up the left leg, a white wrap around the torso, straps up her shoulders and a V-neckline. Once she was done getting ready she left the temple grounds and took a ferry to the downtown port.

It wasn’t a far walk to the restaurant from the port and she enjoyed walking through the lively crowds, bright lights and general chaos that was Republic City. Once she arrived, the hostess immediately led her to the table and surprisingly everyone was already present. Once she had said her hellos and ordered her drink, she turned her attention to the ongoing conversation and realized there was one empty seat. She quietly motioned to the person beside her to question who they were waiting on and the woman smiled, “Why Avatar Aang of course.”

Katara’s heart felt like it had suddenly stopped beating and her palms were sweating. Her head spun immediately to the door to see if Aang had arrived yet and when she saw nothing she excused herself from the table and headed to the bathroom. She just needed to sit down with her thoughts for a moment and collect herself. 

She hated the fact that he had this power of her to turn her from one of the most powerful waterbenders in the world to a nervous wreck in a matter of moments. Once she felt like she could breath again she exited to the bathroom and headed back to the table across the restaurant.

Aang was sitting was the Council already and although they all seemed to be talking with him he was only half paying attention. He was busy looking around the room to see Katara and as soon as she turned the corner his breath caught in his throat. 

He hadn’t seen her since his last Council meeting practically four months ago and she grew more beautiful every time. Her hair was long and dark down her back, her brown skin looked warm and smooth as she walked towards their table. The sway of her hips left his mind blank. Every time he saw her he felt like he had the first time he had first opened his eyes in this new world to see her stunning face peering down at him.

Once she had sat down the rest of the Council members immediately launched into talks of party details, reservations, orders and the last few things that needed tweaking before this weekend. Aang was of course paying attention but more often than not he was looking across the table at Katara. He had hated himself the night she left because he hadn’t stopped her and he regretted it more than anything but at the time, he felt justified in his reactions. 

It wasn’t until he had talked with Sokka and Zuko that he had started to realize why the fight occurred and what he needed to do so that those kind of outbursts didn’t happen. He had taken on too much in his first years after the war and it was hurting him and everyone around him as a result. Now, he felt much better about handling stress but he didn’t know if taking that time had permanently hurt his chances with the girl of his dreams.

Once the night ended and everyone said their goodbyes, Aang watched as Katara start her walk towards the port. As much as he wanted to speed up after her he knew that he had to get back, he still had items to prepare for the conference and as much as time with Katara would be worth skipping it, he wasn’t sure she wanted to talk him either. 

He had been staying at the Four Elements when he returned a week ago from his journey to the Fire Nation, he was going to hear back home to Air Temple Island but when he heard Katara was there he didn’t want her to feel like she had to leave. He wanted her to stay for as long as he could manage.

Once Katara arrived back at the temple she felt she could finally breath normally again. She felt the butterflies’ in her stomach calm and couldn’t believe the night. She caught Aang glancing at her out of the corner of her eye throughout the night and instead of feeling panicked like she had felt in the bathroom, she felt warm. 

She felt like she had in every happy memory she had of them together when they had started falling in love. It was reassuring but also nerve-racking, their relationship hadn’t survived last time and she wasn’t sure if she could take that kind of heartache again.

**_To be continued …._ **


	2. The Gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gala is only a few days away and Katara's head is spinning in the build up

The weekend had come faster than Katara had anticipated and Air Temple Island was slowly filling with guests. Toph arrived first followed closely by her father, her brother with Sukki, and Zuko with Mai. It felt nice to have all of her friends and family around her but of course she had that sad feeling in the pit of her with the absence of Aang.

All that alone time she had once had was now gone. Every moment from dusk till dawn was spent training or entertaining and because everyone had been apart for so long they were constantly asking questions. Although the topic had come up once or twice she knew they were all trying their hardest not to bring up Aang whenever she was around, they didn’t want to make her upset.

When the night before the conference finally came Katara couldn’t sleep at all. She was tossing and turning in her bed and she couldn’t figure out why so she slipped herself into her everyday tunic and walked down the stairs to leave the temple. When she slipped through the temple doors she felt the cool summer breeze blowing on her skin and felt refreshed. 

She walked further down the temple steps until she reached the beach again. She waded into the water just enough so that her calves were under the surface and took in a deep calming breath. Water had amazing healing powers for physical ailments but Katara found it was also really helpful for when she needed to clear her head and find some balance.

She was staring across the open bay to see the sparkling lights of Republic City and she realized that something was flying out over the waters. She could kind of see flecks of red and yellow as it whizzed through the air against the backdrop of a blackened sky and she realized, that what she was seeing was probably Aang out for one of his midnight flights. 

When she had been living with him in the city all those years ago she often woke up in the middle of the night to an empty bed and a small note that read ‘If you wake up and need to know where I am just look out our bedroom window and stop worrying.’ The first time of course she panicked and leapt out of bed straight to the window to make sure nothing was wrong. She, just as she was seeing now, watched him glide over the open waters and graze the surface as he shot back into the air and around again.

She felt a feeling of calm settle over her as the tide pushed forward against her legs and as she watched Aang. It was like there was nothing wrong, the two of them were completely at peace and in their element. He must have noticed her watching him because he had turned in the sky an was heading straight toward her. She watched as he manoeuvered his way through the sky and floated his way don onto the sand where she was standing glider gripped in his hand.

“Couldn’t sleep either, huh?” 

She didn’t feel as anxious as she had at the restaurant, something about the night was keeping her in a place of calm. She wanted to get back to their friendship, she wanted Aang in her life if it just meant being a supportive friend and she couldn’t keep feeling like she was walking on eggshells with him.

“Not at all, this conference is more stressful than I thought it would be.” He was slowly moving closer towards her as he spoke and keeping his eyes fixated on her own.

“I think it’ll be fun. It was a really great idea Aang, I never really got the tell you at any of the meetings with the Council but I still want you to know I’m proud of you.” Katara smiled warmly at him and she could see the light in his eyes start to beam.

“I really appreciate that Katara. I should tell you that you gave me the idea,” he was standing next to her now and they were overlooking the bay together. She could feel his hand grazing hers and as he spoke she turned to look at him quizzically, “What do you mean I gave you the idea?”

He turned towards her and looked down into her big, brown doe eyes, “Do you remember the night of that great storm when no one could go outside and we spent the whole evening without power?” Katara smiled at the memory of the two of them alone on Air Temple island surrounded by nothing but candlelight. 

They had talked all night about everything that had happened in their lives and after chasing him outside into the craziness of the rain they made love. She had never felt more connected to Aang than that night and she even remembered thinking to herself that her heart would always belong with him.

Aang continued, “Well do you remember how we spent all that time talking about how important it was that great leaders developed a connection with other great leaders? You kept talking about how if the nations just spoke to each other in a more informal setting than maybe they could build friendships instead of just diplomatic agreements. You were so right Katara.” Aang had that big goofy smile on his face and he felt warm inside seeing her look up at him with elation in her eyes and that beautiful smile on her face.

“That’s one of my favourite memories on this island,” Katara turned her eyes back to look across the water at the city skyline but could still feel Aang’s eyes on her. Her mouth turned into a smile when Aang spoke, “I think its one of mine too.”

He liked standing there with her and he could have forever but the sunrise had begun and he knew he should go. He opened his glider and Katara turned to look at him, “I should get back before they notice I’m gone.” Katara grabbed his hand in hers, “Everyone is staying here with me Aang, you should at least stay for breakfast. They’d love to see you.” Feeling her hand wrapped around his made his mind melt and instead of opening his mouth he just shut his glider and smiled. She smiled back at him and led him up the steps of the temple.

“I’m just going to wash my face and change before we head to the dining hall. Do you mind?” Aang shook his head at her and stood in the middle of the room she had brought him to as she walked away to the bathroom. He looked around the room and realized Katara had been staying in the room they had once shared together. 

He could tell from the rustled up sheets that she had started sleeping on the side of the bed he had slept on. He walked over to her dresser where he saw the necklace he had made her once so long ago draped over a picture frame of the two of them in Ba Sing Se.

He looked up from the frame and realized the bathroom door was ajar. He could see Katara through the opening as she was getting ready and realized her ebony back was exposed to him, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She fixed her bindings and pulled the dress over her head. She pulled her thick, dark hair out from under the fabric and he turned towards to open window to regain his bearings. 

What he didn’t realize was that Katara could see his reflection in the mirror while she got dressed and it made her smirk, maybe he did still think about her the way she had been thinking about him. She left the bathroom and called to him, “You ready?”

Aang turned around and saw her standing before him in a floor-length blue dress that hugged her body. He could feel his face redden as he stared at her and he spoke softly, “Yeah, lets go.” Watching his eyes move across her made the butterflies in her stomach flutter out of control. They walked down the steps from the bedroom towards the dining area and everyone erupted. They couldn’t believe, one, that Aang had surprised them with an early visit and two, that Aang and Katara were walking in together. 

They all instantly started hugging him, asking him questions and telling him stories from their own adventures. As the conversation bustled forward and they ate their meals Aang kept looking at Katara. Being around her again made him feel like he had completely jumped out of his skin but it also made his heart hurt as he remembered he would have to leave her. Once breakfast was finished everyone waived Aang goodbye until later that evening and he walked with Katara back down to the beach.

Aang didn’t know what to say to her so before he opened his glider and took off he pulled Katara into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and felt his hands grip her waist. When he started to pull back he spoke softly, “I’ll see you tonight.” She nodded at him as he opened his glider and shot up into the sky. She watched him fly over the bay until she couldn’t see him anymore and went back up to the temple.

She felt warm having him around again. It was like a few good moments; a few reminders of the man she had fallen so deeply in love with was enough to relight the fire in her heart. She thought it had gone out the night she left. The pain of leaving him behind when there was still so much love there was unbearable. She had spent months trying anything alleviate the pain, she would sit in the darkness, meditate, go for long walks by herself, but nothing worked. Leaving him was like losing a part of herself she had grow with over the years.

She turned back towards the temple. She had a few things to do before she started getting ready for that evenings dinner party which would start off the conference.

* * *

As the day drew to an end Aang stood in his hotel room changing from his more formal robes into his more traditional ones and waiting for the knock on the door that would notify him his presence was required. Once he had finished he stood by the window to wait, he looked out over the city and across the bay to Air Temple island where he thought of nothing but Katara. After about 20 minutes that knock on the door came and left his room to begin the evening.

The conference was being held in a large hall in downtown Republic City with a grand staircase that descended directly onto the dance floor which was surrounded by large tables for when dinner was served. As more and more people began arriving Aang found himself constantly checking the staircase to see when Katara would arrive. He was being swung from diplomat to diplomat most of the evening until finally he saw them all.

Suki descended the staircase first, arm in arm with Sokka, and they were closely followed by Chief Hakoda, Toph and Firelord Zuko. Aang pardoned himself from the conversation and walked towards his friends. He welcomed them warmly but couldn’t help himself from asking, “Where’s Katara?” As he spoke that famous shade of blue caught his eye and he looked to the top of the staircase to see her standing there. 

Her hair was pulled up with a few pieces falling down next to her face, she wore a floor-length strapless dress that hugged her natural waistline and had a heart shaped bust. Her ebony skin was practically shimmering in the golden light of the room and her eyes were sparkling down at him as she approached them all.

While everyone began to move towards the left wing of the large room Katara and Aang fell to the back of the group so as not to be overheard. Aang spoke quietly, “You look incredible. Well, you always look incredible but tonight, wow.” Katara felt a blush coming to her cheeks at the compliment and turned up to Aang to thank him but before she could speak she was interrupted by an Earth Kingdom General who had approached Aang to converse. She excused herself with a smile and continued to where Toph and Zuko were standing.

Most of the night Katara spent mingling around the room, being introduced to countless individuals by her father, and scanning the room to see who had stolen Aang’s attention this time around. While her father described to a Fire Nation Lieutenant the many healing techniques Katara had learned from the Northern Water Tribe Katara watched as three young women surrounded him and began incessantly giggling. 

She ground her teeth together and then reminded herself that she had no claim over the Avatar anymore. She turned back to her father and the young man to excuse herself, looked back to see Aang looking up at her and started walking towards Suki and Toph across the room.

“Hey Sugar Queen, enjoying the royal shin-dig?” Toph smirked as she spoke and continued to pop grapes in her mouth. Katara and Suki laughed, “I’m just about done with my father gallivanting me around the room.” Suki turned to her, “Seems to be pushing you into conversation with every eligible bachelor here, huh?” Katara looked at Suki and suddenly realized that every person her father had pulled her into a conversation with had been with a young man that wanted to hear all about her exploits.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, how could I have been so stupid,” Katara smacked her forehead. Suki and Toph started laughing at her but suddenly stopped when they noticed her father approaching them. 

“Katara I would like to introduce you to Khan, he’s here with Fire Lord Zuko for the military council tomorrow.” Khan reached out his hand to shake Katara’s and her father immediately excused himself. “Sorry about that Khan, my father can be a little much sometimes,” Katara smiled with slight annoyance.

“It’s alright, its not everyday you have the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe try to set you up with his gorgeous daughter,” Khan pulled Katara’s hand up to his lips and kissed it. She felt a blush suddenly creep across her cheeks at the compliment and before she could thank him for the compliment a voice sounded over the speakers opening the dance floor. As people started to couple off Khan turned to Katara and smiled, “Would you care to dance?” Katara nodded her head as he led her to the dance floor, took her left hand in his and placed his right hand on her back.

From across the room Aang had watched as Hakoda brought a random man to Katara and he thought nothing of it until that random man kissed her hand. His jealousy only grew as he watched this guy whisk Katara onto the dance floor and place his hands on her. He knew he couldn’t say anything because Katara was her own woman but he felt the need to blast whoever that guy was right through the roof of the building. Unfortunately, that was not very Avatar like.

Once the song had finished it was customary for the dance partners to step back and bow but when Katara rose from her curtsey she saw Aang next to Khan. He had his hand held outwards towards him, “Hello, I’m Aang, I was wondering if you minded if I asked Katara for the next dance.” 

Khan’s eyes seemed to light up at the fact that the Avatar was even talking to him and he started to stutter, “Of course Avatar Aang, I’m Khan by the way, I’m here with Fire Lord Zuko for the military conference.” Aang smiled politely at him and Katara could see there was a fire in Aang’s eyes as Khan spoke, “Thank you Khan, I’ll definitely remember to look for you at the meeting.”

As Khan walked away, an elated look on his face, Aang reached his hand out to Katara and she grasped it. Unlike Khan, who was obviously trying to keep an appropriate distance from her, Aang had pulled her in close to him and placed his open hand on the small of her back. As the music played on Aang whispered down to Katara, “Your father seems to be introducing you to every available bachelor here.” 

Katara laughed at his comment, “I think he just doesn’t like me being all by myself in the city.” Aang had been looking over Katara’s head as she spoke but when she said that he pulled back to look down at her. At the sudden movement Katara looked up to see the pain on Aang’s face, “I’m sorry for that Katara. I didn’t mean for that-.”

Before Aang couldn’t finish Katara started talking, “Aang don’t.” He stopped talking to let her continue, “We don’t have to talk about that tonight.” Her eyes started to glisten while she spoke so Aang, realizing this wasn’t the best place to have that, pulled Katara closer to him and pressed his lips against her forehead. Katara closed her eyes at the feel of his lips on her and felt a single tear fall from the corner of her eye. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://carpetheotherfandoms.tumblr.com/post/162008774937/republic-city-ii

**Author's Note:**

> https://carpetheotherfandoms.tumblr.com/post/162008757757/republic-city


End file.
